Anything but a witch hunt... cases investigated and charged by law
officials.
Here are the current 17 KNOWN investigations into Trump & Russia, and
their status...
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Investigations by the Special Counsel
1. The Russian Government’s Election Attack: The special counsel moved
aggressively to outline and charge the Russian government’s core attack
on the 2016 election, which included both active cyber intrusions and
data theft by the military intelligence unit GRU and the GRU’s attempted
attacks on the US voting system, as well as online information influence
operations by the Internet Research Agency, known by the moniker
“Project Lakhta.” Numerous threads from this investigation remain
unseen—including a possible cooperator inside the Internet Research
Agency, Putin’s own involvement, whether any Americans contributed
knowingly to the attack, the role of the FSB’s “Cozy Bear” hackers, and
whether or how Russia’s expensive and multipronged attack coordinated
with contacts between Russian nationals and the Trump campaign over the
course of 2016, including the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Mueller has
also reportedly been investigating the role of late GOP activist Peter
Smith, who had apparently tried to locate stolen emails and make contact
with Russian hackers. It’s also unclear what has sparked Mueller’s
apparent continued interest in Trump’s campaign tech firm, Cambridge
Analytica.
Status: 12 Russian military intelligence officers from the GRU indicted,
13 people indicted from the Internet Research Agency, alongside three
Russian companies, and a guilty plea from one California man who
unwittingly aided their identity theft. Manafort aide Sam Patten is
cooperating with investigators.
2. WikiLeaks: Whether WikiLeaks’ publishing of the emails stolen by
Russian hackers connects from Moscow to Trump Tower itself remains an
open question. But a leaked aborted plea agreement from conspiracy
theorist Jerome Corsi makes clear that Trump associates had at least
some advance knowledge of what WikiLeaks was planning to publish. How
any of that may connect with looming charges facing WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange and another apparently abandoned deal for him to leave
the Ecuador embassy in London is also unclear.
Status: Both Trump aide Roger Stone and Corsi have said they expect to
be indicted. Unclear if looming charges against Assange relate to
Mueller investigation.
3. Middle Eastern Influence: Potentially the biggest unseen aspect of
Mueller’s investigation is his year-long pursuit of Middle Eastern
influence targeting the Trump campaign, which the Daily Beast reported
last week might become public sometime early next year. As the Daily
Beast wrote, “The ‘Russia investigation’ is set to go global.” The
investigation appears to center on the role of the UAE, Saudi Arabia,
and Israel, which were eager to help the campaign and, in some cases,
have business ties to Trump or presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Kushner specifically appears to have been a key focus of these foreign
efforts: The New Yorker and other news outlets have carefully traced how
China, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia targeted the White House senior adviser.
Status: No public court activity yet, but two key figures are known to
be cooperating: Middle East would-be power broker George Nader and
Blackwater mercenary group founder Erik Prince.
4. Paul Manafort’s Activity: What began over a year ago with a sweeping
money laundering indictment targeting Trump’s one-time campaign
chair—and resulted in his conviction on eight felonies at trial before
he accepted a plea agreement on other charges—continues to unfold. In
court documents, Mueller has made clear that he’s investigating Manafort
associate Konstantin Kilimnik, a Ukrainian tied to Russian intelligence.
He may also have interest in Kilimnik’s interactions with another Trump
associate, real estate investor Tom Barrack, who has also been
interviewed by investigators.
Status: Manafort’s been both convicted at trial and accepted a plea
agreement; lawyer Alex van der Zwaan pleaded guilty to lying to
investigators about the Ukrainian work; Manafort associate Sam Patten
has pleaded guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent; Kilimnik
has been indicted for obstruction of justice. Known cooperators include
Trump deputy campaign chair and Manafort business partner Rick Gates,
who has also pleaded guilty to his own role in the money laundering scheme.
5. The Trump Tower Moscow Project: Just days before Cohen was sentenced
to three years in federal prison for the eight felonies he pleaded
guilty to in August, Mueller surprised everyone with a ninth charge.
Cohen admitted that he lied to Congress about the status of the Trump
Organization’s pursuit of a Trump Tower Moscow, a proposed project that
extended longer into the campaign and proceeded into more serious
conversations than previously admitted. The special counsel also noted
how the project would be worth “hundreds of millions” of dollars, far
more than a normal Trump licensing deal, leading to questions about why
it would have been so lucrative. The case also connects the Trump
Organization’s business deals, and the campaign, directly to the office
of Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose government was at the time
busily engaged in the attack on the US election. Moreover, according to
statements by congressional investigators and documents released from
Congress’s own Russia investigation, other figures, including Donald
Trump Jr., may face legal exposure about their own testimony on the
Trump Tower Moscow project.
Status: Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the status
of the project and is cooperating with investigators.
6. Other Campaign and Transition Contacts With Russia: As journalists
have pieced together, at least 14 Trump associates had contact with
Russia during the campaign and transition, from foreign policy aide
Carter Page to would-be attorney general Jeff Sessions. Questions
continue to surround many of those contacts, not least of all the Trump
Tower meeting in June 2016 that included Trump Jr., Kushner, and
Manafort, and which involved hints that the meeting was only “part of
Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” as the email setting
up the meeting first promised.
Status: Both national security adviser Michael Flynn and foreign policy
aide George Papadopoulos have pleaded guilty to charges related to their
campaign and transition contacts with Russia. Cohen and Flynn have both
provided extensive cooperation to Mueller about the campaign and
transition contacts.
7. Obstruction of Justice: Robert Mueller’s appointment stemmed from
Trump’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey and fears that the
firing was an attempt to obstruct the initial stages of the Russia
investigation. But recent court documents hint that Mueller might be
assembling a broader obstruction-of-justice case against Trump, one that
could potentially argue that the president’s public statements
intentionally misled the public in an attempt to limit the scope of the
Russia investigation. Even if Mueller decides there’s enough evidence to
bring a case here, it seems more likely to get passed along to Congress
for consideration of impeachment rather than prosecuted in court.
Status: No public movement yet, but court documents point to the fact
that at least Manafort and Cohen have provided evidence useful to this
case about their own contacts in 2017 and 2018 with the White House.
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Investigations by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
8. Campaign Conspiracy and the Trump Organization’s Finances: Despite
the myriad cases unfolding from the special counsel, the White House’s
most immediate legal jeopardy increasingly appears to stem from federal
prosecutors in New York digging into Trump’s alleged financial
shenanigans. Perhaps the biggest political bombshell amid the last three
weeks has been the new revelations around Michael Cohen, “Individual 1”
(as court documents have identified Trump), and the hush money payments
to cover up extramarital affairs in the final weeks of the 2016
election. Prosecutors have written that Donald Trump himself directed
the payments—an indication that they have solid documentary evidence
that hasn’t become public yet—and have apparently lined up nearly every
other participant in the scheme as a cooperator.
Status: Cohen has already pleaded guilty, and National Enquirer’s David
Pecker, its parent company AMI, Cohen, and Trump Organization CFO Allen
Weisselberg are all cooperating with investigators.
9. Inauguration Funding: Late last week, The Wall Street Journal broke
word that prosecutors were digging into the record $107 million raised
and spent by the Trump inauguration committee, potentially with concerns
about where that money came from and where it went, based in part on
documents and evidence seized during the Michael Cohen investigation.
Journalists have long raised questions about where the inauguration
money went, and the FBI expressed concern about the Russian elites who
appeared at the event. We already know that at least some shady money
was involved: Manafort associate Sam Patten’s plea agreement includes
that he helped a Ukrainian businessman funnel $50,000 to the inauguration.
Status: No public court activity yet beyond Patten, but he is
cooperating with investigators.
10. Trump SuperPAC Funding: Related to the news about the inauguration
inquiries was word that prosecutors are digging into the funding of a
Trump SuperPAC, Rebuilding America Now, where Paul Manafort also played
a role.
Status: No public court activity yet, but Manafort aide Sam Patten is
cooperating with investigators.
11. Foreign Lobbying: Robert Mueller also handed off information he
uncovered during the Manafort money laundering probe to prosecutors in
New York. According to news reports, he referred questions about at
least a trio of other lobbyists—Tony Podesta, Vin Weber, and Greg
Craig—and whether they allegedly failed to appropriately register as
foreign agents for work related to Ukraine. Podesta abruptly closed his
eponymous lobbying firm last year, and Mueller had previously been
interested in the work done by Mercury LLC, Weber’s firm, as well as the
law firm Skadden Arps, where Craig worked until earlier this year.
Skadden Arps also employed the Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, who
pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with Rick Gates.
Status: Rick Gates is cooperating with investigators.
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Investigations by the US Attorney for the District of Columbia
12. Maria Butina and the NRA: The guilty plea last week by Russian agent
and gun-rights enthusiast Butina came with an extensive cooperation
agreement, including the possibility of her meeting with investigators
without lawyers present. While the most immediate next target of the
investigation appears to be Butina’s boyfriend, Republican operative
Paul Erickson—he was sent a so-called “target” letter by prosecutors
recently—questions have also swirled about 2016 campaign funding by the
National Rifle Association and the reach of Russia into the US
conservative movement. Notably, Butina attended numerous conservative
events—including the inauguration—and brought 11 Russians to the annual
prayer breakfast, was photographed with numerous conservative leaders,
and even asked candidate Trump a question at an event early in the
campaign, giving him an opportunity to praise Russia.
Status: Maria Butina has pleaded guilty and is cooperating.
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Investigations by the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
13. Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova: The alleged chief accountant of the
Internet Research Agency was indicted separately earlier this fall by
prosecutors in northern Virginia and the Justice Department’s unit that
handles counterintelligence and espionage cases, not by Mueller’s
special counsel office. Khusyaynova was charged with activity that went
above and beyond the 2016 campaign, including efforts to meddle in this
year’s midterms. Why she was prosecuted separately remains a puzzle.
Status: Khusyaynova has been indicted.
14. Turkish Influence: According to court documents, Trump national
security adviser Michael Flynn contributed to two investigations beyond
the Russia probe. While both were redacted in his court case, there are
strong hints, including reporting by The New York Times, that one of
those two cases includes a grand jury in northern Virginia focused on
illegal influence by the Turkish government. According to the Times,
“Prosecutors are examining Mr. Flynn’s former business partners and
clients who financed a campaign against Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living
in Pennsylvania whom the Turkish government has accused of helping
instigate a failed coup.” Flynn’s own sentencing documents allude to the
fact that Flynn handed over voluminous records from his own businesses.
Status: Michael Flynn’s plea agreement includes some details of the
case. Flynn is cooperating with investigators.
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Investigations by New York City, New York State, & Other State Attorneys
General
15. Tax Case: In the wake of a New York Times investigation that found
Donald Trump had apparently benefited from upwards of $400 million in
tax schemes, city officials said they were investigating Trump’s tax
payments, as did the New York State Tax Department. Longtime lawyer and
Trump fixer Cohen also reported in his own court filing that he met with
investigators from the New York Attorney General’s Office, although the
court filings didn’t explain what the investigation entailed.
Status: Unknown.
16. The Trump Foundation: The New York Attorney General sued the Trump
Foundation this summer, charging it with, as The New York Times
summarized, “sweeping violations of campaign finance laws, self-dealing
and illegal coordination with the presidential campaign.” A judge just
ruled last month that the lawsuit can proceed. Now the incoming attorney
general has promised even more wide-ranging inquiries in the Trump
business world.
Status: Case is proceeding, having cleared initial court tests.
17. Emoluments Lawsuit: The attorneys general for Maryland and DC sent
out subpoenas earlier this month for Trump Organization and hotel
financial records relating to their lawsuit alleging that the president
is in breach of the so-called Emoluments Clause of the Constitution,
which appears to prohibit the president from accepting payments from
foreign powers while in office. The lawsuit’s discovery phase could push
voluminous amounts of information into public view about how foreign
governments have funneled business to Trump’s organization, like how the
Saudi government evidently purchased more than 500 rooms at Trump’s
hotel in DC in the months after the election.
Status: Subpoenas have been issued.
https://www.wired.com/story/mueller-investigation-trump-russia-complete-guide/